Metering devices are used to measure consumption of resources. Examples of metering devices include electricity meters, water meters, gas meters, steam meters, electronic volume correctors, etc. (generally referred to as “utility meters”). A metering device may communicate consumption of a given resource through a pulse source communicating with a pulse-counting device. The communication of consumption may be carried out using electrical pulses.
The pulse source may be in a location that is remote from the pulse-counting device, whereby the pulse source is connected to the pulse-counting device via a data cable having one or more wires. For various possible reasons, the cable between these two devices can become cut or damaged, which would prevent the pulse-counting device from measuring consumption since pulses would not be received from the pulse source. To protect against this issue, a cable test is employed by the pulse-counting device periodically to verify that the cable is intact.
Due to requirements that the pulse-counting device not interfere with the pulse source, the pulse-counting device should be electrically disconnected from the pulse source while the test is in progress. During the period of time in which the test occurs, resources may still be consumed and the pulse source may still send pulses. However, the pulse-counting device cannot receive the pulses sent during the test since the two devices are electrically disconnected. What is needed is a way to accurately count pulses while performing the cable test.